On
Monday, member Amber Rountree, who is also overseeing the three-person
superintendent search committee, said she hoped more people applied by
the end of the week.

“I would like to see some more folks and I
have heard there are more folks planning to apply, and they just haven’t
gotten their material together,” she said.

The committee responsible for the search is made up of Rountree, Tony Norman and Susan Horn.

Friday morning, Norman told 10News he was hopeful there would be more than 11 applicants.
"I especially hope we'll get a few internal candidates," said Norman.

The names of the two internal candidates were not immediately available.

There
is at least one local applicant. Dale Lynch, who currently serves as
Hamblen County Schools Superintendent, applied Friday morning.

"I had heard he was going to apply and I'm glad he did," said Bounds.

Receiving
24 applicants for this position is a 'win' for the board, who went
about the recruiting process differently than they had in the past.

"I'm
excited about the process. This is a little bit different than it's
normally done. Many school systems in our area use outside search
firms," said Bounds.

Outside search firms can cost up to $80,000. Knox County Schools used one in 2008, when Dr. Jim McIntyre was selected.

Bounds said not using an outside search firm will give them more control over the candidates.

Norman agrees.

"Sometimes
those search firms also have some preferred candidates, so they'll
eliminate people on their side before we even get to see them," said
Norman.

On the morning of Jan. 17, the three-member search
committee is scheduled to look at who has applied. Rountree says the
goal is to identify perhaps five solid candidates from among all who
have applied and go from there.

Norman says the people in his top
five will be applicants who have "a heart for the classroom" and
"significant administrative experience and experience with large school
districts."

Bounds agrees with Norman's desire to have a
superintendent with classroom experience. She also hopes their new chief
will have many of the leadership qualities Interim Superintendent Buzz
Thomas has.

"He is very much a servant leader. He understands the role of the board and of the superintendent," said Bounds.

For
now, the superintendent search is closed. However, Bounds says it could
reopen at any time if the current applicants are not up to standards.

Bounds
said the hope is to have a new superintendent in place by summer, but
are willing to sacrifice that timeline for the right person.

"More
importantly is getting the right person. The last two left without
completing their contracts and I don't want to see that happen again,"
said Bounds.

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the glass is usually half empty

My name is Mike Donila and I'm a reporter with WBIR in Knoxville, TN. I cover government. All politics is local, and mostly ridiculous. Travis Fain of Lucid Idiocy said that. He's a smart guy. This is my blog. The content ranges.